Iowa's High Trestle Trail

Trail of the Month: July 2016

“The first time I saw it, I got goosebumps.”

Like the entrance to an alien starship, the fantastical channel of blue lights along the signature bridge of central Iowa’s High Trestle Trail beckons curious travelers to explore. Wrapped in 43 twisting diamond-shaped steel ribs lined with LED lights, the bridge is meant to elicit the sensation of traveling down a mine shaft, a nod to the area’s coalmining history. Towering 130 feet above the Des Moines River, it is just as impressive in daylight, providing an ever-changing picture of the scenic river valley hung with an elaborate frame.

“The first time I saw it, I got goosebumps,” says Pat Boddy, who represented Polk County on the steering committee that was shaping the trail project in the early 2000s. “[The bridge design] was presented to us on a Powerpoint screen that was animated as if you were coming down the trail. It was one of the most marvelous things I have ever seen.”

High Trestle Trail above the Des Moines River | Photo by Phil Roeder

The bridge’s unusual appearance came from the imagination of local artist David Dahlquist. Boddy laughs at the memory of turning to her fellow committee members during the presentation and quipping, “You realize it will never be as good as that animation?” But, much later, when she saw the finished bridge in person, she thought it was even better.

“I still get goosebumps,” she says. “It was that kind of moment when you realize that you’re getting involved in something that you know is beyond people’s expectations.”

From the west end of the bridge, the paved trail rolls to Woodward and, from the other end, east to Madrid and Slater before pivoting south through Sheldahl and Ankeny, suburbs of Des Moines that have a familial hometown feeling. The route pops in and out of the trees with expansive pastoral vistas in between. Trailside ponds found in some areas were once used as water sources for the steam engines that ran down the corridor.

The High Trestle Trail offers both picturesque rural opennes and pockets of cool woodlands | Photo by David V Johnson

At night, the song of frogs is heavy in the trees, a sound that Boddy describes as a “melodic cacophony.” During the day, the trail might present such natural treasures as a swarm of butterflies, a slinking fox or a deer in the underbrush. Pelicans rest on the river’s sandbars, and in the fall, the hawk migration is a spectacular sight.

“During fall migration, the hawks, raptors and other birds go flying by in a group,” says Lisa Hein, senior director for conservation programs at the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, which spearheaded the trail’s development. “You’ll see hundreds to thousands of birds. It looks like a tornado of birds high in the sky, and it’s great to watch them from the bridge.”

Turkey vultures are also common here. “In the late spring and early summer, they like to sit on the arches of the bridge and spread their wings in the morning sun,” says Becky Roorda, who represented Madrid and Boone County on the trail’s steering committee. She adds with a chuckle, “It looks like they’re waiting for bicyclists, like ‘There’s a weak one.’”

Bicyclists and pedestrians have been coming through the corridor since 2008 when 20 miles of the rail-trail opened. A short gap in the trail was later closed in 2011 when the distinctive bridge (and a small amount of trail leading up to it) was also completed. As an interesting anecdote: a few years prior to the transformation of the bridge for trail use, its decking had been removed, and the bridge’s massive concrete pillars remained topless, lined up like a row of dominos in the river for several years, earning the nickname “Iowa’s Stonehenge.”

The pillars of the High Trestle Trail bridge before the decking was added|Photo by Becky Roorda

Today, the trail spans 25.6 miles with towns spaced every few miles, offering convenient opportunities for adventurers to quench their thirst, grab a bite to eat or explore the art galleries and local attractions. Roorda points out that several local businesses, including two that she co-owns, have been established because of the trail.

Railroad enthusiasts can stop in the Madrid Historical Museum to learn about the history of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad, which the trail follows; its tracks were laid down in 1881. For a present-day railroad experience, the Boone & Scenic Valley Railroad offers passenger excursions between nearby Boone and Fraser in 1920s-era train cars.

The rail corridor had been purchased in 2005 by the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, and according to Hein, “There wasn’t any question about converting it to a trail. It’s part of our culture. Iowa’s been building rail-trails since the ‘80s in the Des Moines metro area.”

The rural flavor of the High Trestle Trail|Photo by David V Johnson

With federal funding for the project secured with the help of then Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), the project moved at “lighting speed” according to Hein. Even though the trail’s grand opening started out as an overcast and drizzly April day, Hein remembers the sun coming out as if on cue for the ribbon cutting. The trail was an instant success and continues to see an estimated 175,000 visitors annually.

“For local people, biking wasn’t really a big thing,” says Roorda. “With the trail, many people bought bikes and got into it in a big way. There’s been a big explosion in biking and walking.”

Building on the momentum, two important extensions for the trail are in the works: one heading 6 miles south from Ankeny to Des Moines, and another going 9 miles west from Woodward to Perry to connect to the Raccoon River Valley Trail, which offers nearly 90 miles of paved trail. The two trails tie into a regional trail system that seems nearly boundless, spanning a whopping 670 miles—and growing— in and around Des Moines.

“The High Trestle Trail has raised awareness and appreciation for trails in Iowa,” says Hein. “The whole thing has brought magic to the trail system here.”

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Laura Stark is the content manager for TrailLink.com and a lead writer and editor for Rails to Trails magazine, responsible for highlighting trails and the people working hard to support them across America.

Uses: Walking, bicycling, inline skating and cross-country skiing; wheelchair accessible. Equestrians can ride on the grassed surface adjacent to the paved trail between Woodward and Slater, but note that horses are not permitted on the bridge.

Difficulty: Easy; the trail has the gentle grade typical of most rail-trails.

Access and parking: There are trailheads with parking and restrooms in each of the communities that the trail connects: Ankeny, Sheldahl, Slater, Madrid and Woodward.

To navigate the area with an interactive GIS map, and to see more photos, user reviews and ratings, plus loads of other trip-planning information, visit TrailLink.com, RTC's free trail-finder website.

Rentals: A variety of bikes—adult and kid sizes, tandems, trikes and trailers—are available from Trailside Rentals (326 W. Second St., Madrid; 515.230.6712), located just two blocks from the trail and 2.5 miles east of the famed trestle.